Dycom CEO reports 550,000 skilled trades openings amid data center boom as firms invest billions in training and acquisitions

Dan Peyovich, president and CEO of Dycom Industries, told attendees at Fortune’s COO Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona on Tuesday that the construction industry faces more than 550,000 unfilled positions this year. He said surging demand for fiber networks and data centers is colliding with a persistent shortage of hands-on workers.

“There’s no doubt there’s a skilled trade shortage now,” Peyovich said.

Dycom Industries, which builds telecommunications and utility infrastructure, employs about 20,000 skilled workers. 95 billion acquisition of a data center electrical contractor in 2025. Peyovich said the acquisition forms part of a broader push into AI-era infrastructure buildouts.

S. 1 million skilled trades jobs could go unfilled by 2030, with potential economic losses reaching $1 trillion annually. Peyovich said decades of underinvestment and reduced early exposure to manual work have left today’s labor pool less prepared than in previous generations.

“Filling the skilled workforce in today’s world is not like it used to be,” he said. ” Dycom Industries gives new hires two weeks of vacation on their first day. Earlier this year the company announced plans to build a 49-acre immersive training campus in Georgia.

Peyovich, who began his career as a carpenter, said the goal is to make skilled trades as attractive as a college path. “I still hope that in my lifetime people really see [skilled trades] as being just as an attractive track as going through college,” he said. BlackRock committed $100 million to skilled trade training programs designed to reach 50,000 workers over the next five years.

Lowe’s pledged $250 million over the next decade to train 250,000 skilled trades workers. Ollie O’Donoghue, head of research at Cognizant, said AI will still require someone to turn the wrench but will change diagnostics, planning, and scheduling around the work.

“You’ll still need someone to turn the wrench, no doubt, but the actual process of plumbing and the value that’s added will change a little bit,” O’Donoghue said.

Peyovich said AI can improve safety and efficiency in hands-on roles. “As we stand today, and for as far as we can see into the future, somebody still has to be out there working with their hands,” he said.